“HE has suffered enough having to deal with it all.”

Those were the words of a grieving widow after the man who admitted causing her husband’s death by driving carelessly appeared in court.

Keith Prosser, from Besford, near Pershore, died when his silver Suzuki motorcycle was hit by a Volkswagen Passat being driven by Ian Matthews in Station Road, Pershore, on December 18 last year.

Matthews, aged 54, of Fields Close, Badsey, was sentenced to 12 months’ community service, told to complete 200 hours’ of unpaid work and disqualified from driving for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £1,200 in court costs and a £60 victim surcharge at Worcester Crown Court last Wednesday.

Mr Prosser’s widow Angela attended court with her daughter Georgia, her partner Harvey, Mr Prosser’s brother Mark and his mother Shelia.

And after the hearing she told The Journal: “I absolutely forgive him. We’re never going to get Keith back, but we all make mistakes and this was a genuine mistake.

It was an accident – a fatal one – but it was a mistake.”

The Prosser family said the loss of the 43-year-old had “left a void in our lives and hearts that will never be filled”. But Mrs Prosser said she had focussed on the future, rather than the past.

“You can go with anger and become bitter, or you can accept and forgive. He [Matthews] really did look like a broken man and he doesn’t deserve that,” she said.

At the hearing, Matthews said he should have seen Mr Prosser, who had his headlight on and was wearing a high-visibility jacket.

Malcolm Galloway, defending, argued that a slight bend in the road and a bus ahead of him it may have obscured Matthews’ first look, making the road appear clear.

Pat Sullivan, prosecuting, said Mr Prosser may have been speeding, as he was seen to be travelling at about 40mph in a 30mph zone, but he could not have avoided hitting Matthews’ car.